News Broadcasting
News18 launches Google Progressive Web Apps in Hindi and Bengali
MUMBAI: News18, India’s leading destination for news with more than 100 million active viewers per month, has worked with the Google team in India to launch Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in Hindi and Bengali. For the uninitiated, PWAs are unique Google products that combine the best qualities of apps and websites. So while consumers may be on the https://hindi.news18.com website on their smartphones, via the Google Chrome browser, the website will have the look, feel and functionality of an app. PWAs are much lighter than other apps, they load much faster, consume much less data and storage and are therefore accessible to wider audiences.
News18 offers content in nine regional languages, in addition to English and Hindi, in order to cater to the diverse Indian audience. “With the exponential growth that the Indian market has seen in content consumption and engagement on mobile, it is important that our products deliver our experiences to every relevant user. Given the accessibility that our multi-lingual coverage offers, our technology is now aligned to the same vision of democratising access to news,” said Mitul Sangani, Business Head, News18 Languages.
With 80% of News18’s audiences accessing the information on their smartphones, these state-of-the-art PWAs ensure speed of access and reliability under poor network conditions and enhance user engagement. Network18’s Chief Product Officer Avinash Mudaliar confirms that the Hindi PWA, which was released first, has driven significant improvements in performance and consumer behaviour. He said, “Better load times have enabled us to provide a superior user experience. The proof is in the numbers. Users are spending more time on our pages, and engaging more with our content.”
PWAs also offer the ability for users to subscribe to the publisher’s push notifications. Over 3 lakh users have subscribed to News18 Hindi’s push notifications since it was launched.
Manish Maheshwari, Network18 Digital CEO said, “Progressive web applications have shown a lot of potential in improving access to quality content in the Indian market. Network18 Digital is one of the largest digital publishers in India, with over two dozen properties across formats in all major Indian languages. Given the success of the News18 Hindi PWA, we rolled out another one in Bengali and will be rolling out more of our other properties in the months to come.”
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
